President Trump on Monday asked all African countries to support the US World Cup bid.

President Trump on Monday hosted Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and, during their joint press conference, asked African nations to support the United States' bid to host the World Cup. "I hope all African countries and countries throughout the world that we also will be supporting you and that they will likewise support us in our bid along with Canada and Mexico for the 2026 World Cup," Trump said, in part. "We will be watching very closely and any help that they could give us in that bid, we would appreciate." That request for assistance was decidedly softer in tone than the one Trump had tweeted just days prior. "The U.S. has put together a STRONG bid w/ Canada & Mexico for the 2026 World Cup," the president wrote on Thursday. "It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the U.S. bid. Why should we be supporting these countries when they don't support us (including at the United Nations)?"  Not long after, a spokesperson for FIFA said in a statement, "As a general rule, we cannot comment on specific statements in connection with the bidding process. We can only refer to the FIFA Regulations for the selection of the venue for the final competition of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and in particular to the Bid Rules of Conduct incorporated therein."  According to Reuters, the referenced rules include a warning against governments taking actions that "may adversely affect the integrity of the Bidding Process and create an undue influence on the Bidding Process."